Having been on 26 cruises (23 different ships with different lines - Cunard, P & O, Princess, Fred Oslen, RCCL, MSC) we decided to go on a Celebrity Cruise ship after so many excellent reports from people we had met on recent cruises.Therefore our expectations were "high". Our initial impression was very disappointing as the ship lacked that "wow" factor we were expecting to see somewhere on the ship. That initial impression proved correct and our final verdict was that the ship lacked "sophistication" and was rather "bland" in places.

I was most annoyed on opening our cabin door,to find, on the corner of the bed facing the door so you could not miss it, a full page letter starting with "We are contacting you to provide you with information regarding our service recognition process or onboard gratuities" Then giving a guideline list of the tips one is expected to give, per person per day. This totalled approx £200. Then a paragraph stating "If the service has been exceptional and you wish to further reward your service staff,, you may at any time request an additional gratuity form at Guest Relations Desk that will allow you to add any additional amount at your discretion" And so I did what I always do on other ships and go down to Guest Relations and "opt out" of this blanket approach to tipping so that I can give to exactly who I want to. I am generous by nature but deplore this modus operandi.

On the penultimate night, there in our cabin was a bundle of five envelopes in a covering wrapper listing who should get the tips and how much. Who was the Assistant Chief Housekeeper!!!! Only one envelope was used - for the stateroom 2 guys - who had already written in handwriting "Please hand this envelope to ..(me)......Thank you very much" And so I got much pleasure in seeing the surprise and smiles when I gave several tips to those crew members who probably never get them! Read more